Krantz Films, Inc. (KFI) was a Canadian production company headed by American film producer Steve Krantz. From 1966 to 1974, it produced animated cartoon shows such as The Marvel Super Heroes , Rocket Robin Hood , Spider-Man , [1] [2] The Wonderful Stories of Professor Kitzel , and Max, the 2000-Year-Old Mouse .
It also produced the films Fritz the Cat , Heavy Traffic , The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat and Cooley High , and many live-action television shows in Canada and Japan: The Space Giants in 1970, The Weaker(?) Sex in 1968 [3] and many more. [2] During production of the latter, the company was sold to cable system operator Vikoa, which later wound down the operation. [4]
Ralph Bakshi is an American animator, filmmaker and painter. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1994, he directed nine theatrically released feature films, predominantly urban dramas and fantasy films, five of which he wrote. He has also been involved in numerous television projects as director, writer, producer and animator.
Animation in the United States in the television era was a period in the history of American animation that gradually started in the late 1950s to 1960s with the decline of theatrical animated shorts and popularization of television animation, reached its peak during the 1970s to 1980s, and ended around the late 1980s. This era is characterized by low budgets, limited animation, an emphasis on television over the theater, and the general perception of cartoons being primarily for children.
Rocket Robin Hood is a Canadian animated television series, placing the characters and conflicts of the classic Robin Hood legend in a futuristic, outer space setting. It was produced by Krantz Films, Inc. and aired on CBC Television from 1966 to 1969.
Grantray-Lawrence Animation was an animation studio active from 1954 to 1968 and founded by Grant Simmons, Ray Patterson, and Robert L. Lawrence.
Spider-Man is a 1967 Canadian-American superhero animated television series that was the first television series based on the Spider-Man comic book series created by writer Stan Lee and by artist Steve Ditko. It was jointly produced in Canada and the United States (animation). The show starred Paul Soles as the voice of Peter Parker, also known as Spider-Man. The first two seasons aired on the ABC television network, and the third was distributed in syndication. Grantray-Lawrence Animation produced the first season, and seasons two and three were produced by Krantz Films in New York City. The series aired Saturday mornings from September 9, 1967 to June 14, 1970.
Heavy Traffic is a 1973 American live-action/adult animated drama film written and directed by Ralph Bakshi. The film, which begins, ends, and occasionally combines with live-action, explores the often surreal fantasies of a young New York City cartoonist named Michael Corleone, using pinball imagery as a metaphor for inner-city life. Heavy Traffic was Bakshi and producer Steve Krantz's follow-up to the film Fritz the Cat. Though producer Krantz made varied attempts to produce an R-rated film, Heavy Traffic was given an X rating by the MPAA. The film received largely positive reviews and is widely considered to be Bakshi's biggest critical success.
Stephen Falk Krantz was a film producer and writer, most active from 1966 to 1996.
Fritz the Cat is a 1972 American adult animated black comedy film written and directed by Ralph Bakshi in his directorial debut. Based on the comic strip of the same name by Robert Crumb, the film focuses on its Skip Hinnant-portrayed titular character, a glib, womanizing and fraudulent cat in an anthropomorphic animal version of New York City during the mid-to-late 1960s. Fritz decides on a whim to drop out of college, interacts with inner city African American crows, unintentionally starts a race riot and becomes a leftist revolutionary. The film is a satire focusing on American college life of the era, race relations and the free love movement, as well as serving as a criticism of the countercultural political revolution and dishonest political activists.
The Marvel Super Heroes is an American animated television series starring five comic book superheroes from Marvel Comics. The first TV series based on Marvel characters, it debuted in syndication on U.S. television in 1966.
MGM Animation/Visual Arts was an American animation studio established in 1962 by animation director/producer Chuck Jones, producer Les Goldman and executive Walter Bien as Sib Tower 12 Productions. Its productions include the last series of Tom and Jerry theatrical shorts, the TV specials Horton Hears a Who! and How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, and the feature film The Phantom Tollbooth, all released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Marvel Animation Inc. is an American animation production company. It was incorporated on January 25, 2008 to direct Marvel's efforts in animation and home entertainment markets. The incorporated Marvel Animation included then ongoing animation efforts by Marvel Studios with Lionsgate and Nickelodeon. Marvel Animation operates under Marvel Studios, a subsidiary of Disney Entertainment, a division of The Walt Disney Company.
Raymond Patterson was an American animator, producer, and director. He was born in Hollywood, California, and was the younger brother of animator Don Patterson.
Irven LeRoy Spence was an American animator. He is best known for his work on MGM's Tom and Jerry animated shorts. Spence has been credited variously as Irven Spence, Irvin Spence, and Irv Spence.
Gerald Potterton was a Canadian director, animator, producer and writer. He is best known for directing the cult classic Heavy Metal and for his animation work on Yellow Submarine.
Mucho Locos is a 1966 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. The short was released on February 5, 1966, and stars Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales.
Spike Brandt and Tony Cervone are an American television writing, animation and production team at Warner Bros. Animation and formerly at Nickelodeon Animation Studios. Brandt was born on December 24, 1961, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Cervone was also born on November 15, 1966, in Melrose Park, Illinois.
Robert Leonard Lawrence was an American television and film producer, and co-founder of Grantray-Lawrence Animation, which is best known for producing the first Spider-Man cartoon series in 1967.
Events in 1912 in animation.